Pollution and edaphic factors shape bacterial community structure and functionality in historically contaminated soils.

Studies about biodegradation potential in soils often refer to artificially contaminated and simplified systems, overlooking the complexity associated with contaminated sites in a real context. This work aims to provide a holistic view on microbiome assembly and functional diversity in the model site SIN Brescia-Caffaro (Italy), characterized by historical and uneven contamination by organic and inorganic compounds. Here, physical and chemical analyses and microbiota characterization were applied on one-hundred-twenty-seven soil samples to unravel the environmental factors driving bacterial community assembly and biodegradation potential in three former agricultural fields.

Biodeterioration of carbographic ribbon: Isolation, identification of causal agents and forensic implications.

Unlabelled: This study is part of a comprehensive investigation that was performed in regard to a case of alterations on a carbographic ribbon used in a typewriter that was found and seized by inner security operations of the Arma dei Carabinieri, Italy. Thirty-six coded scripts possessing potentially and criminally liable content were present on the tape; however, only the 6th and 7th scripts exhibited alterations of an uncertain nature. The study included sampling that was performed under sterile conditions of a large surface area of carbographic ribbons.

Life cycle exposure of plants considerably affects root uptake of PCBs: Role of growth strategies and dissolved/particulate organic carbon variability.

Plant roots can accumulate organic chemicals, including PCBs, and this could be relevant in spreading chemicals through the food chain. To estimate such uptake, several equations are available in the literature, mostly developed in lab conditions, to obtain the root concentration factor (RCF). Here, a long-term (18 months) greenhouse experiment, using an aged, contaminated soil, was performed to reproduce root uptake in field-like conditions and to account for the ecological variability of exposure during the entire life cycle.

Mercury vertical and horizontal concentrations in agricultural soils of a historically contaminated site: Role of soil properties, chemical loading, and cultivated plant species in driving its mobility.

The long term vertical and horizontal mobility of mercury (Hg) in soils of agricultural areas of a historically contaminated Italian National Relevance Site (SIN Brescia-Caffaro) was investigated. The contamination resulted from the continuous discharge of Hg in irrigation waters by an industrial plant (Caffaro S.p.

Dry biocleaning of artwork: an innovative methodology for Cultural Heritage recovery?

An innovative methodology is proposed, based on applied biotechnology to the recovery of altered stonework: the "", which envisages the use of dehydrated microbial cells without the use of free water or gel-based matrices. This methodology can be particularly useful for the recovery of highly-ornamented stoneworks, which cannot be treated using the conventional cleaning techniques. The experimental plan included initial laboratory tests on Carrara marble samples, inoculated with dehydrated Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast cells, followed by on-site tests performed on "" (), a travertine monumental complex in Rome (Italy), on altered highly ornamented areas of about 1,000 cm.

Effects of short-term exposure to particulate matter on emergency department admission and hospitalization for asthma exacerbations in Brescia district.

Background: Rising pollution plays a crucial role in worsening several respiratory diseases. Particulate Matter (PM)-induced asthma exacerbations are one of the most dangerous events.

Objectives: To assess the correlation between progressive particulate matter short-term exposure and asthma exacerbations, we investigated the role of PM levels on Emergency Department (ED) admissions and hospitalizations for these events in Brescia, an important industrial city located in northern Italy with high yearly levels of air pollution.

Impact of a diagnostic therapeutic educational pathway program for asthma management in preschool children.

Background: Preschool children with clinically-diagnosed asthma have a higher rate of emergency department visits and consume more resources for management than older children. However, no clinical trials have yet been performed measuring the impact of a combined diagnostic, therapeutic and educational pathway regimen for evaluation of wheezing control in children aged less than 6 years. The purpose of the present study was to assess the impact of a pediatric program developed in Italy, the Diagnostic Therapeutic Educational Pathway (DTEP), for asthma management in children less than 6 years old attending an asthma referral center.

Polychlorinated biphenyls and risk of hepatocellular carcinoma in the population living in a highly polluted area in Italy.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are human carcinogens, based on sufficient evidence for melanoma and limited evidence for non-Hodgkin lymphoma and breast cancer. Few data are available for liver cancer, although PCBs cause it in rats and determined liver damage in poisoned people. We investigated the association between PCB serum levels and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with a case-control study in a PCB-polluted area in North Italy.

COVID-19 pandemic: a mobility-dependent SEIR model with undetected cases in Italy, Europe, and US.

Objectives: to describe the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic with a focus on undetected cases and to evaluate different post-lockdown scenarios.

Design: the study introduces a SEIR compartmental model, taking into account the region-specific fraction of undetected cases, the effects of mobility restrictions, and the personal protective measures adopted, such as wearing a mask and washing hands frequently.

Setting And Participants: the model is experimentally validated with data of all the Italian regions, some European countries, and the US.

Biocleaning on Cultural Heritage: new frontiers of microbial biotechnologies.

Over the last two decades, the biotechnologies applied to Cultural heritage (CH) have become a successful novel alternative to the traditional approaches in the CH conservation and preservation. From these new perspectives, microorganisms and their metabolisms can be used for the safeguarding of artworks. Biocleaning is a field with a growing interest, based on eco-friendly processes and safe procedures, where biological reactions occurring in natural habitats are optimized in artificial conditions with the aim of CH conservation.

PCB vertical and horizontal movement in agricultural soils of a highly contaminated site: Role of soil properties, cultivation history and PCB physico-chemical parameters.

The agricultural areas of a historically contaminated National Relevance Site (SIN Brescia Caffaro) in Italy are an ideal case for studying the long term vertical and horizontal movement of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in soil. Here, a former large producer of PCBs (Caffaro S.p.

A new dataset of PCB half-lives in soil: Effect of plant species and organic carbon addition on biodegradation rates in a weathered contaminated soil.

This paper presents a new dataset of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) half-lives in soil. Data were obtained from a greenhouse experiment performed with an aged contaminated soil under semi-field conditions, collected from a National Relevance Site (SIN) located in Northern Italy (SIN Brescia-Caffaro). Ten different treatments (combination of seven plant species and different soil conditions) were considered together with the respective controls (soil without plants).

New Data Set of Polychlorinated Dibenzo--dioxin and Dibenzofuran Half-Lives: Natural Attenuation and Rhizoremediation Using Several Common Plant Species in a Weathered Contaminated Soil.

In this paper, a new data set of polychlorinated dibenzo--dioxin and dibenzofuran (PCDD/Fs) half-lives (HLs) in soil is presented. Data are derived from a greenhouse experiment performed with an aged contaminated soil under semi-field conditions, obtained from a National Relevance Site (SIN) located in Northern Italy (SIN Brescia-Caffaro). Ten different treatments (combination of seven plant species with different soil conditions) were considered together with the respective controls (soil without plants).

Evaluation of a Diagnostic Therapeutic Educational Pathway for Asthma Management in Children and Adolescents.

Limited evidence exists for the effectiveness of educational programs that improve pediatric asthma control in real-world settings. We aimed to assess the impact of a diagnostic, therapeutic, and educational pathway (DTEP) for asthma management in children and adolescents attending an asthma referral center. This is a retrospective population-based cohort study, including two groups of patients with asthma, aged 6-17 years and residing in the Local Health Authority (LHA) of Brescia, Italy: (a) the children who followed a DTEP (intervention group) and (b) all the children residing in the LHA who did not follow DTEP (control group).

Identification of Sulfonated and Hydroxy-Sulfonated Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) Metabolites in Soil: New Classes of Intermediate Products of PCB Degradation?

In this paper we describe the identification of two classes of contaminants: sulfonated-PCBs and hydroxy-sulfonated-PCBs. This is the first published report of the detection of these chemicals in soil. They were found, along with hydroxy-PCBs, in soil samples coming from a site historically contaminated by the industrial production of PCBs and in background soils.

Meningococcal disease in Italy: public concern, media coverage and policy change.

Background: Between 2015 and 2017 six deaths due to meningitis in the Lombardy Region, Northern Italy, caught the attention of media and increased concern among the population, with a consequent increase in demand for vaccination. Considering the evidence about the impact of media coverage of health issues on public behaviour, this paper investigates the trend of media coverage and internet searches regarding meningitis in the Lombardy Region.

Methods: Content analysis of online articles published from January 2015 to May 2017 and analysis of Google Trends were carried out.

Rhizoremediation of weathered PCBs in a heavily contaminated agricultural soil: Results of a biostimulation trial in semi field conditions.

This paper describes the results of a rhizoremediation greenhouse experiment planned to select the best plant species and soil management for the bioremediation of weathered polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). We evaluated the ability of different plant species to stimulate activity and diversity of the soil microbial community leading to the reduction of PCB concentrations in a heavily contaminated soil (at mg kg-1 dw level), of the national priority site for remediation (SIN) "Brescia-Caffaro" in Italy. Biostimulation was determined in large size (6kg) pots, to reflect semi-field conditions with a soil/root volume ratio larger than in most rhizoremediation experiments present in the literature.

Onsite advanced biocleaning system for historical wall paintings using new agar-gauze bacteria gel.

Aims: This study reports the results of the application of a new agar-gauze biogel system activated with viable bacterial cells to altered wall paintings.

Methods And Results: Biocleaning using agar biogel and agar-gauze biogel systems was performed onsite by direct application to altered wall painting surfaces (25-1000 cm ). The treatments were performed for the restoration of two original Italian sites: (i) at the Vatican Museums, Cristo che salva Pietro dalle acque-La Navicella, a wall painting by Giovanni Lanfranco (1627-1628) and (ii) at Pisa Cathedral Cupola, Incarnato, a wall painting by Orazio Riminaldi (1593-1630) and his brother Girolamo Riminaldi.

Nutrient cycling potential within microbial communities on culturally important stoneworks.

Previous studies on microbes associated with deterioration of cultural heritage (CH) stoneworks have revealed a diverse microbiota adapted to stresses such as low nutrients, aridity and high salinity, temperatures and radiation. However, the function of these pioneer microbial communities is still unclear. This study examines bacterial and archaeal diversity in exfoliated and dark encrustation sandstone from Portchester Castle (UK) by 16S rRNA and functional gene analyses.

Improving the SoilPlusVeg model to evaluate rhizoremediation and PCB fate in contaminated soils.

Tools to predict environmental fate processes during remediation of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in soil are desperately needed since they can elucidate the overall behavior of the chemical and help to improve the remediation process. A dynamic multimedia fate model (SoilPlusVeg) was further developed and improved to account for rhizoremediation processes. The resulting model was used to predict Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) fate in a highly contaminated agricultural field (1089 ng/g d.

Hi-tech restoration by two-steps biocleaning process of Triumph of Death fresco at the Camposanto Monumental Cemetery (Pisa, Italy).

Aims: In this work, the 'hi-tech' complex biocleaning and restoration of the 14th-century fresco Triumph of Death (5·6 × 15·0 m) at the Camposanto Monumental Cemetery (Pisa, Italy) is reported. Since 2000, the restoration based on the biological cleaning of noble medieval frescoes, has been successfully utilized in this site.

Methods And Results: The novelty of this study is the two-steps biocleaning process using Pseudomonas stutzeri A29 viable cells, previously applied for recovering other valuable frescoes.

Rhizoremediation half-lives of PCBs: Role of congener composition, organic carbon forms, bioavailability, microbial activity, plant species and soil conditions, on the prediction of fate and persistence in soil.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are persistent organic pollutants widely produced and used in many countries until the increasing concern about their environmental risk lead to their ban in the 1980s. Although their emissions decreased, PCBs are nowadays still present in the environment and can be reemitted from reservoir compartments such as contaminated soils. In the last two decades, there has been a growing interest in bioremediation technologies that use plants and microorganisms (i.

Differentiating current and past PCB and PCDD/F sources: The role of a large contaminated soil site in an industrialized city area.

Cities and contaminated areas can be primary or secondary sources of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and other chemicals, into air and soil and can influence the regional level of some of these pollutants. In a contaminated site, the evaluation of such emissions can be crucial in the choice of the remediation technology to be adopted. In the city of Brescia (Northern Italy), more than 100 ha of agricultural areas were contaminated with PCBs, PCDD/Fs and heavy metals, originating from the activities of a former PCB factory.

Phyto-rhizoremediation of polychlorinated biphenyl contaminated soils: An outlook on plant-microbe beneficial interactions.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are toxic chemicals, recalcitrant to degradation, bioaccumulative and persistent in the environment, causing adverse effects on ecosystems and human health. For this reason, the remediation of PCB-contaminated soils is a primary issue to be addressed. Phytoremediation represents a promising tool for in situ soil remediation, since the available physico-chemical technologies have strong environmental and economic impacts.

A new non-degenerate primer pair for the specific detection of the nitrite reductase gene nrfA in the genus Desulfovibrio.

Dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonia (DNRA) is the process in which nitrate is reduced, via nitrite, to ammonia. Bacteria known to carry out DNRA mainly originate from wastewater treatment plants, where DNRA is a relevant process. The ability to carry out DNRA is phylogenetically widespread, and the gene nrfA, encoding for the key enzyme of the second step of the pathway, could be used as a marker for this process.